Capt. Kevin Smith at the helm of heritage Canadian schooner Maple Leaf in BC. Photo by Greg Shea.

A phrase bubbling up more and more in travel industry circles these days is transformational travel.

It’s a short-cut that some guides use to explain a trip that gives you such a great experience, it takes you out of your everyday to a place of bliss or to a new sense of place in the world.

If you’ve travelled on this beautiful coast of BC and Alaska aboard Maple Leaf or Swell, I think you know what they’re talking about.

I’ve thought about the phrase; it’s usually used in reference to the guests’ experience on the trip. Although they didn’t necessarily go on the trip for any reason other than to see a wonderful place, they find their perspective has been transformed by the experience.

But I think it goes both ways. I think transformational travel, like all good and resilient parts of an ecosystem, gives back to the guides and to the places it operates, too.

There is something inherently healthy for humans in knowing that their work both creates delight and protects the place they call home.

In our case, we know that by sailing down fjords and through archipelagos, walking in the rainforest and exploring wild places and important cultural sites, we’re helping humanity to value them. Simply by travelling here with us, and by appreciating what you experience, you are helping to protect these incredible treasures.

You, our guests, are helping to transform the travel industry into a more holistic, conservation-based activity. You’re ensuring that the ancient trees you walk under will continue to regulate the climate and create habitat for salmon and bears. You’re ensuring that smart and competent people like our crew and staff are able to perform rewarding work that gives them the satisfaction of knowing they are taking care of the planet that gives them life.